Squatters in one of our block's apartments

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 17:31

We have squatters in one of the apartments in our block. They have been there for two and a half years. They are Turkish. They paid three months' rent and no further payments. They were stealing water and communal electricity, but now the meter has been removed they have wired up to bypass where the meter was. They remove the fuse and disconnect the wires when they know that the meters are going to be read. They have been reported to the police for stealing water and the police say that they must be caught in the act. The electricity situation has been reported to both Kibtek and the police and both say that it is the other's responsibility. Grids have been put on the meter area and they have forced them off. The locks have been changed and they have forced the doors and gone in again. It seems that they are invincible. Any ideas about how this problem could be dealt with?

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 17:52

Just goes to show how inept the Police can be in certain areas. Does the Landlord know the situation or are you the owners? God knows what the interior of the apartment must be like! It's a case for the 'boys' or my bazooka!



Richard

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 17:58

No, I am not the owner, but the owner has asked me for suggestions as to how to get them out. He has lost nearly two and a half rent and the rest of us have been inconvenienced by parking of lots of cars/old vans in our parking places and higher electricity bills. Also, the owner does not seem keen to pay his service charge for last year and that has had a knock on effect for all of us. I wondered whether any forum members had experience of this happening as I have been led to believe that it is a far from uncommon incidence. Any thoughts or suggestions gratefully received. It seems they have the law on their side.

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:00

Are the actual owners aware of this?



DD

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:01

Sorry....i didnt realise Brinsley had beaten me to it...





DD

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:02

Yes. They have had no rent for nearly two and a half years. They are still in England, but I have emailed them and explained about the electricity etc. As I said, the owner has asked me for suggestions as to how to remove them, but I really don't know the procedure.

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:15

It might be an idea to take a turkish speaking person with you to the police station, just to make sure there are no misunderstandings...if that doesn't work...go above the local police and try the police headquarters in Nicosia....at least this would be a start....



Failing this...maybe you could wait till they are out...break in and change all the locks on doors and maybe put some on windows...then make a policeman come and wait with you till they come back...



DD

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:16

By the way...when you do get in, be sure to chuck everything out onto the street for them....they need no reason to need to get back inside.



DD

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:25

They don't all go out together. There is usually someone there. Last time the locks were changed, they just forced the door and got back in again.

cyprusairsoft



Joined: 22/06/2009
Posts: 2066

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:30

go to the casino hire some muscle for an hour they wont come back

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:32

Where abouts is the apartment?

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:35

There must be a time when the place is empty...you just have to be vigilant and patient...As soon as they start breaking in get the police!!!! Do not delay...they need to be caught in the act!





DD

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:43

Pour some petrol over their cars late at night and set fire to them!



Richard

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 18:47

Apartment is behind the Pia Bella. The law seems to be on their side. Is there a legal way of evicting them, without hue legal bills?

cyprusairsoft



Joined: 22/06/2009
Posts: 2066

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:03

frighten the crap out of them

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:10

Does this story tell the potential 'invest to rent in TRNC' merchants anything?

philnles


Joined: 11/08/2008
Posts: 413

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:13

Hi Sloan,

If you can, take photos of the electricity meter and where they are bypassing it, You could show that to the police and Kibtec. We were looking after a friend's apartment and their neighbour kept nicking his electricity. We took a photo, stuck it on the cupboard for everyone one to see and they stopped. They were Turkish too.

You could take a copy to the police and Kibtec!



If you managed to change the locks when they were out perhaps you could loan someone's large dog (preferably black, we have been told they are scared of black dogs) and keep that there for a few days.



Put 'blue loos' in their water tank and disconnect their water pump.



Good luck.

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:20

I am in England at the moment, but I took photos of the meter in August. They seem quite mechanically astute - could wire into the communal electricity last summer. Have also put a huge satellite dish on roof and have screwed through the waterproofing of roof to fix it. I don't think that disconnecting their pump would slow them up that much.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:26

Connect the suction line of their water pump to the septic tank!

philnles


Joined: 11/08/2008
Posts: 413

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:27

Blimey, they seem to know what they are doing.

Maybe you could get someone from the apartment block to keep going to the police with photos and a Turkish speaking friend.



What about the maintainance company, could they not help? If everyone in the block started to intimate they wouldn't pay up until these people were got rid of, maybe they would be willing to help.



Sorry I can't be of anymore help.

TimothyCadman


Joined: 13/12/2007
Posts: 1040

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:31

Daisy Dukes

"Failing this...maybe you could wait till they are out...break in and change all the locks on doors and maybe put some on windows..."

Your course of action is totally illegal. The tenants CANNOT be got out this way. If you do try this the person who does it is more than likely going to end up in prison. I'm very serious on this one. The tenant has more rights than you imagine.

As has been stated on this board on many occassions the only way to get them out is to get a court order. it will take time, a year or 2, but you will get it. The owner should have done this 2 years ago and it would be reaching a climax now.

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:33

Does anyone know the approximate costs of getting a court order?

MUSIN M


Joined: 26/06/2008
Posts: 1352

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:46

sloan

the police cannot do much ,i have heard many stories from friends and family ,i will tell you a

incident that my uncle went through in famagusta ,he rented a very large penthouse to a turkish

family ,a couple with three children ,for two years they paid their rent and then suddenly stopped

18 years later and 5 solicitors and untold court appearances he finally got them out .



you can offer them some money to leave or you can employ someone to tell them to go.

both options work out cheaper .



musin



long live the kktc

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:54

Buy some smack (heroin) and plant small packages in their cars, under their water tank lid and anywhere else you can think of then inform the Police that drug dealing is going on by these people. The Police do not like this one iota!



Richard

BeeBop


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 70

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 19:58

We have had the same problem with squatters who paid there rent then stopped. We were not able to brake in and change the locks as we would have been arrested by the police. My partner is Turkish and he spoke to them on numerous occasions, not politely either but to no avail.

We were at a loss, eventually they moved on and left us to clean up the mess.

The law is definately on there side, you would have to take court action to evict them and it does take years.

billyboy1


Joined: 01/06/2009
Posts: 590

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 20:24

My grandafather made an agreement to rent out my fathers house on a six month basis..



My father lived in the UK at the time. The people that were to rent the property signed the agreement with my grandfather, but never moved in or paid any money.....



I went to cyprus on holiday with my family and my father gave me the keys to his house to use.....



I was taken to court by the tenant (hadnt moved in or paid anything) and even stopped from leaving the country at ercan airport......



The tenenat alleged that i had broken into my fathers house and stolen all his possessions which he had bought over from turkey...22k worth .when it got to court, my solicitor asked to see the import papers for all the stuff he had bought over.....



Got sorted and i didnt have to pay nothing

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 20:43

Revert to Msg 17 - Q.E.D. !



Bazooka time, Richard!



Print some stickers saying: 'Turkish Squatter - No Hand Signals' and stick them on the back windows of their cars - they might get the message!

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 21:06

What does surprise me is why no action/help has been asked for or taken for 2 & 1/2 years? Surely warning signals were evident yonks ago and measures for eviction put into place then!



Richard

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 21:13

Yes, I agree. It has been very frustrating for the other tenants. However, it is only today that the owner asked for advice about how to get the out. It is only my problem in so much as I have another apartment in the block. The squatters have been there for 3 summers, using the pool and just acting like the rest of the owners/paying tenants.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 21:17

Well, not much you or anyone else can do until your return with the owner.



Richard

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
15/09/2009 21:21

I have only met the owner once, briefly about 4 years ago. Just in email contact with him. Hope to have a telephone conversation soon, but only have email address at the moment. I will be back on October 24th, but am not sure of the owner's plans.

andrew4232



Joined: 04/07/2009
Posts: 1543

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 09:52

if the owner was so worried about the situation, why have they not come out to sort it out ?

AlexF065


Joined: 07/09/2009
Posts: 271

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 10:04

Does this story tell the potential 'invest to rent in TRNC' merchants anything?



Tells em NOT under any Circumstances rent your property to anything but Holidaymakers and NEVER let to local's unless european's and are waiting for there own property to be finnished which you would want proof of

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 10:08

Andrew4232 - I really don't know. I would be pulling my hair out and spitting nails if it was me. The other residents are hoping it gets sorted out some time soon.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 10:25

AlexFO65/Msg34:



The same laws, or lack of, apply to europeans or holidaymakers - if they decide it's cheaper to live 'free' in your property than build their own - 'stiff bikkies', pal!



Be prepared, if and when you do get them out, for some hefty utility bills and for the joint to be *stripped and trashed. If you try to gain entry, you'll be the one(s) arrested, plus any friend(s) who, out of the goodness of their heart, want to help you. This happened to my close friends just last year, and they went in to simply take photographs of the above *scenario in order to help a frail, old lady. Dikkat!



I could be specific and describe the incident - but this is a public forum, so I'd better remain 'stum'!

maningi pusa


Joined: 07/09/2008
Posts: 120

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 10:30

We had much the same situation in one of the blocks in our complex which was wholly owned by a local (cypriot) gentleman who rented his 4 apartments to Turks and has had problems with most of them. It appears to have been sorted now as the squatter types have all gone(to me they are gypsies) The problems were similar--electric cut offs--tapping into the pool supply or whoever else was an easy mark, rubbish all round the block they were in. We never had a cent maintenance money out of them and they were the first to complain if anything went wrong with the pool or communal lighting. Thank god Tuncay got rid of them and seems to have a better class of tenant ( he wasn't paid rent for quite a few months) The new lot however are still not too keen about paying maintenance.

Elliecy


Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 153

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 13:14

We had a similar problem when we bought our house. It was empty for over a year and then squatters from Turkey moved in. However when they tried to get the water connected at the Belediye, they refused to connect them as they had no paperwork relating to the house. We had no idea that they were in the house and when we arrived in NC were quite shocked. We phoned the local police who came out straight away and they were told to leave. They did leave, but 2 days later came back again & changed the locks on our house! The police and local muhtar then came back again and I have no idea what was said but they were gone again in 2 days & never returned. I have no idea why our situation was different (perhaps because no rental agreement was entered in to in the first place, or maybe because they were mainland Turks), but the police did a really good job. I have total sympathy for anyone with squatters as our house was in a shocking state & they had only been there a couple of months.

AlexF065


Joined: 07/09/2009
Posts: 271

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 14:12

I had thought to be a squatter in the first place you had to gain entry by legal means of an empty and unoccupied space ie an open window or door and have never paid rent or ever had any legal permission to occupy not break and enter or change locks these are in most peoples eyes are criminal acts



if you are a tenant and stop paying rent i dont see how this makes you a sqatter? see above it makes you a tenant who is not paying rent



I cannot see why the owner does not in these cases have the elctricity and water supply cut off

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 14:37

The electricity has been cut off a long time ago. They have bypassed the supply. The water does not get cut off for non-payment. There is a bill for about the equivalent of £420 from the Belediyse. If the water was cut off, presumably they would just order tankers.



I take the point about them technically not being squatters. Possibly in future, we will refer to them as the non-paying tenants upstairs. (For Elliecy) They are mainland Turks. Often have relatives over from Turkey for their summer holidays. Even hosted a wedding from there last year. I got a real surprise when masses of people dressed to the nines, including the bride in white emerged from the apartment. It is only a two bedroomed apartment and it reminded me of those old films of people emerging from telephone booths!

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 22:16

Brinsley ...I thought this was the beautiful paradise isle where nothing went wrong and only the British Police were totally inept.Sounds as if you need some of the boys from the East End to pay them a visit...

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 22:58

CoAchie



The 'boys' from your neck of the woods would be of little help here, their sobriety on a liquid diet of Ribena would be too conspicuous in the under cover work required!



Richard

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 23:05

Brindley..Dont come from the East End,but those lads drink more than Ribena and dont worry about undercover work.....Does not seem to be much undercover work required,all the info is here on this board...

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 23:16

CoAchie



Having correctly pulled me up for misspelling your name, please reciprocate by doing likewise!



Richard

dizzycows


Joined: 12/05/2009
Posts: 2736

Message Posted:
16/09/2009 23:46

Now you to boys, just stop it! get back on the thread or you will told of.!! Coachie what police force you on about, our lot wouldnt come to NC , the cars are not good enough, plus they cant stop the traffic for a whole day re an accident! A good old pay out if they can disrupt the traffic. In NC they just drive around the problem and life goes on! LOL XXXX

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
17/09/2009 00:03

I have lots of sympathy, in principle, about the topic in hand however, the problem has somewhat been diluted by the inaction of the owner who seems to have passed the buck onto sloan (not a friend, just a neighbour). Is the native language of the owner Turkish or English?



Richard

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
17/09/2009 09:48

The owner is English - I think he lives in Lancashire, or possibly Cheshire, although as I said, I am just in email contact with him. I emailed and asked him to contact us by phone or send his number so that we could discuss it a bit more fully, but he has not got back to me. The problem is only mine in as much as the non-paying tenants upstairs have stolen water and electricity, parked old vans in several of the parking bays which are allocated to particular apartments, and that the owner does not seem to want to pay his maintenace, having a knock on effect for the rest of us.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
17/09/2009 10:32

Sloan: Get the site management people to complain to the police that the owner hasn't paid maintenance - then, like those poor souls, who got arrested at Ercan for allegedly 'stealing' a pot of paint, he might also get arrested, which might persuade him to pay his arrears. Meanwhile, these vagabonds, the real fraudsters, will remain 'untouchables', I'm afraid. You could, of course, email this owner and warn him that he is risking arrest by non-paymen - that might stir him into action!



What amazes/puzzles me over all this is: why haven't Kibtec taken action? They very quickly grabbed our 60 amp fuse when our bank's auto-payment system failed to pay them!

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
17/09/2009 12:40

BrinSley..Sorry old chap,slip opf the finger on the board,need a new key pad ,half of these letters have rubbed off.

Dizzy..was on about the TRNC police.Sounds as because it is not a locals property that they could not care less what happens.As you know all to well,its a helluva job to get gypsies off your land if they have moved on illegally,and they do not think twice about cutting off locks or chains simply because they know that it takes ages to get them off.Probably the same in TRNC.If the owner cannot be bothered to go over and try to do something about it I personally do not have a lot of sympathy for him/her,unless there is some medical reason why they cannot.

tennakouto..like has been said,they seem very resourceful if they can by-pass the the mains fuze.Kibtec will probably just bill the owner,simples..

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
17/09/2009 15:01

Kibrec have removed the meter. I have photographic evidence of the non-paying tenants bypassing the sytem where the meter has been removed. Kibtec says it is a police matter. Police say it is a Kibtec matter. Owner is not contractually obliged to pay maintenance, although I consider him to be morally obliged. Therefore, I cannot see that it is a police matter if he has not paid and even if it were, he has been absent from the TRNC for the past few years. I realise that most of you will find the owner's lack of action incredible, but I am interested in what is likely to happen from the other tenants' perspective, too. Is there a time limit before, the NPTs can claim the apartment, even though they are not technically squatters?

dizzycows


Joined: 12/05/2009
Posts: 2736

Message Posted:
19/09/2009 12:21

Coachie, a lot of the land owners take the job of removing them into their own hands now, the police and local authorities do not act fast enough, so a few loads of slurry/dung spread in and around, a few big trenches dug, so making it difficult to get in, tree trunks in gate ways. Unfortunatly this cannot happen in the case on this thread as you have other residents to think about.



Have the owners come over yet? as another way forward is to move in with them and then eject them, not nice, but it has been known to happen. Dont really know what they can do other than 'getting' the police on side. xx

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
19/09/2009 12:29

I cannot understand why the police are not interested. A friend of mine had her meter hacked into by a neighbour who then wired it up such that it looked like she (my friend) was stealing electricity when in fact it was the neighbour and Kib-tec reported it to the police and she had to make a statement etc. It may be that you will have more luck if you take a Turkish speaker with you to report it to Kib-tec again and ask them to involve the police.

AlexF065


Joined: 07/09/2009
Posts: 271

Message Posted:
19/09/2009 12:46

I cannot understand 2 things

firstly the inaction of the owners and secondly the inaction of the police as it seems to me from what has been reported by Sloan that criminal acts are taking place

firstly breaking and entering after locks were changed

secondly theft of electricity and water

It would depend on Turkish law as to how long a person has to be resident in an apartment before they can claim the place as there own

but as there do seem to have been some moves to get them out although not very much action on the part of the actual owners which yes i find incredible as it is not exactly expencive to get to Cyprus even if you fly into the south which does seem to be the cheapest way in

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
19/09/2009 14:43

It's a shame that you can't take the owner to court for allowing this 'nuisance' to continue (or could you?). Be interesting if you did. Would an outstanding court order prevent him coming to the TRNC or if he did stop him leaving? Would the threat of such action spur him onto taking action?

littlejohn


Joined: 09/03/2009
Posts: 316

Message Posted:
20/09/2009 02:26

Message 45 - sorry to attack you again but you talk utter balderdash. Are you for real or do you just post nonsense to get a reaction? If a road is closed following an accident in UK it is usually because there has been a fatality!!

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
20/09/2009 08:00

Hector/Msg54:



If Sloan has 5 grand + that she's prepared to 'lose with a smile'; call it a 'charity gesture' towards all the other tenants in her block - then, by all means, sue the owner - because she has no chance of recouping her costs.



In the light of recent events, it might be better to complain to the police of suspicion of 'theft' by the squatters - as long as the value of goods (allegedly) 'stolen' amounts to the cost of a couple of tins of paint! Then, at no cost to herself, the onus would be on the police to take action!



One can hear their sirens blaring already!

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
20/09/2009 22:46

Be an interesting legal case though. If absentee landlords who fail to control their tenants, who are causing misery to others, could be taken to court, it would certainly send out a message.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/09/2009 12:27

It appears that 'site management' (whoever they may be) would rather put up with the (alleged) 'squatters' and their (alleged) antics than bear the cost of litigation to be rid of them....

cyprusman3



Joined: 09/06/2009
Posts: 297

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 10:00

once you change the locks and put their stuff outside thats it if they break in then they are lible to be procecuted for breaking and entering you should hav ewent to the police when they broke in !!

ive kivcked someone out like that !!

ang1706


Joined: 28/01/2009
Posts: 570

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 11:49

This is awful, but is not uncommon as I can recant about 8 different stories since I have been in TRNC.



Now this is where the BRS should be doing something, especially at Government Liason level. The BRS would gain a lot more respect if it started to be seen to be assisting people.

Stewart


Joined: 19/07/2008
Posts: 1107

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 12:43

Is there no equivilant to "Debt collectors" in NC.....to resolve this problem?

I am sure that if the owner was a TC, this would quickly be sorted? ..or am I wrong?

twoexpats


Joined: 09/04/2009
Posts: 189

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 15:41

can anyone explain why this thread has been reactivated after lying dormant for 7 months?

minertor



Joined: 14/02/2009
Posts: 1238

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 16:10

msg 61: obviously because people here are interested in the thread, or they wouldn't read it, would they?

If you're not interested, or concerned, then why comment?



Tony



interesting name you picked, hope the mods don't let it be abbreviated.

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 20:52

Hey Tenakoutou!



If you read the thread carefully, you will see that I made the initial inquiry last September when the apartment owners asked how they should go about the eviction process. That is my main interest in the situation. There has been no change in the last seven months.

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
27/04/2010 22:52

As a matter of interest are the squatters still there?

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
28/04/2010 08:39

Hi Hector... yes... that is what my 'There has been no change in the last seven months.' referred to. No change and no further contact with the owners, so cannot update on what their plans are.